The Last Vision
by MJTR
Summary: In his last moments, an ancient warrior gets closure on a prophecy he believed until the very end. Minimalist, one-shot flash fiction piece.


[[I have a longer version of this I want to tell down the road, but felt like getting a quick flash fic out at the moment. Enjoy]]

How many had fallen against the lone sentinel before that fateful day? For countless eons he had protected the sacred passage through time against every opponent who had stepped forward against him. Braves, Spartans, Maori, Rajput, Star Command, cyborg, samurai, it didn't matter what they called themselves. All were tested, all had fallen.

The demon with flaming eyes sent a thousand metal men to be reduced to scrap by his hands. Some were carved in two by his blade, some blown to bits by rockets, a few torn and devoured like jerky with his gigantic, square teeth. All fought, all were denied.

The sentinel recognized the demon when he approached. His stink had slowly festered across the planet for centuries, the warrior would have sought to do something about it if it were not his sacred duty to stand guard at the gate.

The demon made his demand before the first blow was struck: Stand aside. I've already spent a decade believing I'd destroyed the last portal, I will not be undone by this one. The sentinel responded with a slash of his sword and forced the demon to screech in agony. Magic did not have the same power as divinity, but either could still at least bring the demon pain.

To the sentinel, there was never a doubt of his victory. The portal said only one man would eventually utilize its divine power. And this demon was not that man.

When the demon was a giant, the sentinel cut him to ribbons. As a multi-headed snake, he fired rockets down his throat. When he took the form of an army of duplicates, bullets soared through each of their heads. If the sentinel had to slay him a million times, so be it.

But no matter his strategy, no matter how many mortal deaths the demon died, he regrouped and struck over and over again. The sentinel was ancient and powerful, but he was not unstoppable. Small cuts grew into lacerations. Soreness gave way to broken bones. The constant cutting dulled the sword, the seemingly endless bullets began to run dry. But his faith was unending. He would survive. This was not the opponent destined to defeat him.

In the midst of a clash, the sword and a bone in his arm shattered. The sentinel fell to one knee and gripped his wound as the demon retreated for distance and let out a long, deep laugh.

"I can face ten thousand deaths and still stand tall. But you're a blueberry I only have to squash once! You and that portal have brought me enough stress, you can die along with it!"

With the last of his strength, the sentinel raised his blade as the blasts like lava erupted from the demon's eyes. The sword was reduced to molten steel, but even as the blast tore through his chest, the sentinel could feel no pain. All that moved him was the dread as he turned to face the precious prize he had guarded so long.

Was that really how it was all meant to end?

 _Do not be afraid, old friend. I knew this day would come._

The portal did not speak often, but when it did, he always gave it the utmost attention.

Despite the pain growing inside his mortal wound, the sentinel was confused more than anything else. In those moments, as time seemed to slow, he softly managed to ask, "What?"

 _I have only ever given you a tiny glimpse of that promised day. Now I shall show just a little more_.

It was a vision the Guardian had seen many times. An old, grizzled warrior, dressed in a white tunic, red cape and golden crown. The black hair atop his scalp and in his beard had just begun to gray. In one hand he wielded a katana blessed by the gods. The one opponent destined to defeat him.

But then the vision changed. The Guardian heard something he never had before.

"So who you supposed to be?"

It was his own voice. He was witnessing the scene through his own eyes.

The swordsman flashed a tiny smile as he stepped forward. "I do not know what I expected. I just wondered, perhaps, if you would remember me."

"Man, I never seen you before. If you'd ever come in here, I'd have never let you back out. That's a promise."

"You spared me once. Perhaps your age made you soft."

"Brotha you talkin' about something that hasn't happened yet? I'm the one with the gate through time here."

"Oh yes, I am well aware."

The warrior raised his blade. The Guardian's own stance shifted and he drew his own.

"Years ago, I witnessed a horrific world destroyed by the evil that was the demon Aku. I sought a way to undo his evil and, eventually, I found it. But since my return, I have wondered if any remnant of that world remains. If any friends, if anyone I owe my life to, if anyone I loved, is still there, somewhere."

"Whatever you say, jack," the Guardian said. "You just gotta get past me first.

The samurai rushed to meet him in the room's center. The vision ended. All was clear.

An explosion overtook the chamber. Debris was tossed to and fro. The time portal, after countless eons, had been reduced to rubble. The demon threw back his whole frame and cackled in maddening delight.

Even as the wound in his stomach took its toll, a tiny laugh escaped the Guardian's mouth. Aku did not hear it at first, but within seconds it grew louder and louder until the demon stopped and the sentinel was the only one laughing.

"What?" Aku frowned. "What is this? What's so funny?"

"I've seen what is to come!" The Guardian shouted between his bouts. "I've seen what's coming, for you, for me and for the samurai!"

Aku grit his teeth. "Stop laughing."

"It didn't even matter. The samurai's still gonna give it to you. It don't matter what you do to me anymore!" His cackling resumed.

"Shut your filthy—"

"Go ahead. Roast me. Whatever happens to me, you'll get it a million times from the samurai. So go ahead, hit me as hard as you can, you're still gonna lose, motherfucker!"

The Guardian's last words were followed by an explosion of laughter that even Aku's final blast couldn't live up to. All that remained of his person were his shattered shades, but his cackle continued to echo all through the night.


End file.
